The electric car was coming into sight in 1994 in the U.S., but it was low on power, short of range and expensive to make.
General Motors introduced the "Impact" electric, and trials were just getting underway.
GM was collaborating with Ford and Chrysler in pursuit of a viable EV.
Were it not for California's clean-air legislation requiring two percent of each manufacturer's sales to be of zero-emission vehicles (Zevs) from 1998, 10 percent by 2003, it seemed unlikely that the battery-powered car would be a candidate for volume production in the near future in the U.S. But in Europe, Peugeot said it planned soon to produce electric cars at an initial rate of 5,000 a year.
Some 20 French towns were being equipped to recharge them.
In 1994, Despite intensive research and heavy expenditures, the search for a "super battery" capable of giving an electric vehicle (EV) anything like the speed and range of a gasoline car had failed.
GM and several other car makers signed with the Ovonic battery company to produce nickel-hydride batteries.
The environmental impact of EVs was questioned.
Electric power for EV's battery has to be generated by coal, oil, natural gas, hydro or nuclear energy, etc.
Ford and several European companies argued that ultra-low (but not zero) emission "hybrid" cars should be considered as an effective compromise.
Their small gasoline engine keeps batteries charged when running on the open road (overcoming the range problem) but can switch to battery-only operation in urban areas.
